VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc No spark

You need to turn the distributor counterclockwise. You want the correct direction of relative motion between the cam on the distributor and the rubbing block on the arm of the points.

Normally the points and the distributor are stationary. The cam is moving clockwise. When you set the initial timing the cam is stationary. The rubbing block needs to move in that same direction in relation to the cam.

If you have the cap off you should hear or see a spark at the points when they open. If you wait until you see the points open you will be close enough that the engine will run, just maybe not as good as it could.

You could but it’s not very exact. Water cooled engines are far more forgiving, but I always static timed until I burned up an air cooled engine I recently rebuilt because I was a little off. Get a timing light. They are cheap and I use it for all kinds of diagnostics. I use a small battery charger hooked to the timing light leads to give me the 12 volts it wants to check timing. The light doesn’t care that the only part attached to the old 6 volt system is the plug wire lead. I just sit that old batter charger on the running board and test away (and you can see the ball in the flywheel and your pointer perfectly - she will run smooth as silk).

Geez sorry, I meant opposite of the rotor direction which would be counterclockwise.

I have a timing light already and I can just hook it up to my truck parked next to my 34, but what exactly will I be doing with it? Are you saying that opposed to pointing it at the crankshaft pulley to adjust timing I will be aiming it at the window in the bell housing to align the ball and pointer?

Remember that the engine is not able to be run right now. He does not have a carburetor.

Once you can run the engine then you can use the timing light. You are correct that you will aim it at the window and pointer. The light will flush every time that #1 cylinder fires. That flash “freezes” the motion of the flywheel. You should see the ball.

Right on, thanks!